I'm digging into the Maryland game. There were no other games since the last Basketbullets. Who are you going to believe? Your trusted blogger friend or your lying memory and the entire rest of the internet? Here, take two of these, they'll help ease the mind. Mean large Gopher man? What a ridiculous figment of your imagination.

Anyway, Michigan beat Maryland. Yes. Let's talk about it. Specifically, let's talk about how the player with the fewest points among M's top eight rotation players had the biggest impact on the team's hot start.

Not Just A Bucket

two teammates are open and he's finding one of them [Campredon]

Hunter Dickinson played his worst statistical offensive game, tallying a season-low three points (previous low: nine) while attempting only three field goals, making one trip to the line, and dishing out one assist with one turnover. Rewatching Michigan charge out to a 17-4 lead to open the game, however, it's clear Dickinson's contribution went well beyond the box score.

PLAY ONE

I thought about breaking this up into offense and defense but going play-by-play gives a true feel for his impact. Maryland opens the game with a pick-and-roll and goes right at Dickinson, who swats Galin Smith's shot off the backboard:

Even though Smith flipped his screen to create a clearer path to the hoop, Dickinson easily dissuaded the guard's drive and covered the ground to block Smith. It's as clean as a block can get because he keeps his arms straight up in the air, too.

PLAY TWO

Michigan's first possession is a set that ends in a double drag screen and layup for Franz Wagner, whose job is made much easier by the gravity of Dickinson on the roll and Mike Smith as a catch-and-shoot threat.

Even as Wagner turns the corner with a full step on his defender, the center can't commit to cutting off his drive without giving up a Dickinson bucket. Instead, he's stuck playing in between, and he's getting no help from Aaron Wiggins (#2) in the corner because the Terps don't want to allow a wide open catch-and-shoot three.

Wiggins, in fact, shuffles closer to Smith while Wagner attacks the basket. The center can't cut off the drive. While Wagner's layup looks contested at full speed, upon further review he gets a clean look.

If the center had managed to play this perfectly, Dickinson's roll still required help from another defender, so the kickout to Eli Brooks in the far corner is wide open if Wagner doesn't have an easy two points.

[Hit THE JUMP for more defensebending and blocks.]

still a nope [Campredon]

PLAY THREE

Dickinson and Wagner stop MD's next possession by executing a switch after a high screen, a luxury afforded by Wagner's versatility and MD's lack of size. Darryl Morsell tries to shoot over Dickinson instead of taking him off the dribble and the big man ends up getting a decent contest on a miss.

PLAY FOUR

This will stand as one of the canonical "Hunter Dickinson has gravity" plays of the season.

Dickinson gets a post-up and Maryland immediately sends a double-team off of Brooks, who's cutting away from the play to clear out Dickinson's side of the court. Dickinson reads the play, knows he has no path to the basket, and gives himself space with a hard dribble away from the defense. This causes the second defender to peel off and try to find a shooter. That's gonna be a problem.

You can see Wagner pointing out the pass to Smith. They're both wide open but the pass to Smith is shorter. Dickinson gives it a little heat and Smith ends up with a practice three-pointer.

You can see how bent out of shape the defense remains. If Smith, for whatever reason, doesn't want to take this wide open shot, there's another wide open three available with a quick swing to Brooks in the far corner. That's all the result of Dickinson knowing how to handle a double. This time he gets the assist; he's been robbed of several because this team moves the ball too well, at least if we're hoping for Dickinson's numbers to match his passing ability.

PLAY FIVE

One of the best defensive possessions Michigan has played all year, which is saying something:

Most of the work is done by the perimeter defenders but Dickinson's mere presence keeps the Terps from attacking the paint until the very end. At that point, Morsell has no choice but to challenge Dickinson at the rim, and with the shot clock winding down Dickinson can go all out for the block. He wins emphatically and it's a shot clock violation. I love this defense.

PLAY SIX

Smith's second three-pointer doesn't get a direct assist credited to Dickinson but there should be. The two run a dribble handoff and Dickinson catches an unsuspecting Hakim Hart flush with a (legal) screen, bowling him over and leaving Smith all alone:

lol

PLAY SEVEN

Juwan Howard throws out a zone defense. Hart attacks the middle, sees Dickinson in the paint, and throws a panicked pass that Wagner tips and steals. Sometimes just being there is enough.

PLAY EIGHT

Off a sideline out of bounds, Dickinson's screen and roll causes Donta Scott, who's guarding Isaiah Livers, to take one false step towards the paint and hesitate to recover. Livers drifts into shooting position and drills a triple from Smith.

PLAY NINE

Galin Smith tries to take Dickinson off the dribble. This is a bold choice:

Dickinson keeps his feet moving and his eyes on the player's torso—it's hard to move your torso in one direction and move the rest of your body in the other, so that's where you're taught to look. He mirrors Smith and goes up vertical against a hook shot, getting a solid contest in without risking a foul; he's already done the work by forcing a difficult shot.

PLAY TEN

That stop seamlessly flows into the final play of the run. Dickinson grabs the board and gets it to Mike Smith, who's in full push-the-pace mode. While the Terps get back and prevent an immediate attack, Dickinson sprints the floor, setting the play into motion again:

Dickinson's contribution doesn't make the box score but it makes the play happen. Before he gets down the court, Maryland is in good position on Michigan's shooters, with Donta Scott keeping close watch on Isaiah Livers in the far corner.

Dickinson shows a high screen as he gets into the play, drawing out two Maryland defenders as the center hedges on Smith.

Dickinson makes the correct read and slips the pick. His man (#30) is caught out on Smith after the hedge, leaving guard Eric Ayala (#5) as the closest defender on him, so Scott is forced to stray from Livers to prevent Dickinson from putting Darryl Morsell on a poster. Smith is already making the pass.

This, of course, is all the space Livers needs to stroke a three-pointer. With the height he gets on his jump shot, no contest Scott can make from here is going to have any real impact.

It's 17-4. Dickinson has zero points, zero shot attempts, and one assist. (Yes, and two blocks.)

He's also dominating the game, which is functionally over after six minutes.